So, I'm back to RYO. Last round was 8 years ago.
Bounced around too much to run a legit setup, and had access to cheaper sources in places, so wasn't as much an issue.
But, no such discounts here.
Back to Leaf Only, with the 5lbs special Turkish blend. 50% American flue cured Virginia, 25% Burley and 25% Izmir Oriental.
Changed the gear up a little this time from last.
Last time I had the cheaper little clamp on 0.8mm shredder. I got the much beefier one this time that screws or bolts down. I've got it screwed into a length of 2x6 currently.
Instead of the Powermatic 2 electric spoon fed injector. I went with the Powermatic 1 plus manual injector this time. I ended up stripping the gears on the electric version and couldn't realign them, and the spoon got stuck in the out position.
The Virginia and Burley are easy to stem and shred, being big leaves. But the Izmir is so small and flaky, almost dusty. It's not great this time around. Could be a batch thing.
But take forever to prep for the shredder.
So... I've been hand cutting it. Stem 1 Virginia leaf, the whole thing. Then half a Burley. And what I've been doing is laying half the Virginia leaf down, then the Burley and layering Izmir in along the length.
The roll it up like a little cigar, not too tight. And chiffonade it!
I saw an old video on YouTube where a guy did it and figured ***, why not.
I've been using my nikiri. (I have the Japanese stones to take care of it). The first run I did with my 63 cent Wushtof I got (posted here), but it's too thick for the task. I was getting maybe 1.1mm cuts at first.
Then I switched to my nikiri, and when I do my part, I'm getting around the 0.8mm cuts after my 4th round of it.
It's so much faster. I can do 15 grams in maybe 10 minutes. Which is around 18-20 smokes.
When I do do large batches, I've taken to keeping them in my humidor. Which is also fun. So I think I'm going to switch it up as I feel. Having fun.
This time around. All in. 5# whole leaf, the inject, the shredder and 5 x 200 Vera Cruz Elegante tubes ran me $660 CAD, after duty taxes.
I was lucky, I got my shipment before Canada Post went on strike. I'm not nearly all the way through it, and USPS is accepting mail to Canada again. So all in all, that part worked out well.
And I'm saving a boatload of money again now. Packs up up to $25 CAD now.
Bounced around too much to run a legit setup, and had access to cheaper sources in places, so wasn't as much an issue.
But, no such discounts here.
Back to Leaf Only, with the 5lbs special Turkish blend. 50% American flue cured Virginia, 25% Burley and 25% Izmir Oriental.
Changed the gear up a little this time from last.
Last time I had the cheaper little clamp on 0.8mm shredder. I got the much beefier one this time that screws or bolts down. I've got it screwed into a length of 2x6 currently.
Instead of the Powermatic 2 electric spoon fed injector. I went with the Powermatic 1 plus manual injector this time. I ended up stripping the gears on the electric version and couldn't realign them, and the spoon got stuck in the out position.
The Virginia and Burley are easy to stem and shred, being big leaves. But the Izmir is so small and flaky, almost dusty. It's not great this time around. Could be a batch thing.
But take forever to prep for the shredder.
So... I've been hand cutting it. Stem 1 Virginia leaf, the whole thing. Then half a Burley. And what I've been doing is laying half the Virginia leaf down, then the Burley and layering Izmir in along the length.
The roll it up like a little cigar, not too tight. And chiffonade it!
I saw an old video on YouTube where a guy did it and figured ***, why not.
I've been using my nikiri. (I have the Japanese stones to take care of it). The first run I did with my 63 cent Wushtof I got (posted here), but it's too thick for the task. I was getting maybe 1.1mm cuts at first.
Then I switched to my nikiri, and when I do my part, I'm getting around the 0.8mm cuts after my 4th round of it.
It's so much faster. I can do 15 grams in maybe 10 minutes. Which is around 18-20 smokes.
When I do do large batches, I've taken to keeping them in my humidor. Which is also fun. So I think I'm going to switch it up as I feel. Having fun.
This time around. All in. 5# whole leaf, the inject, the shredder and 5 x 200 Vera Cruz Elegante tubes ran me $660 CAD, after duty taxes.
I was lucky, I got my shipment before Canada Post went on strike. I'm not nearly all the way through it, and USPS is accepting mail to Canada again. So all in all, that part worked out well.
And I'm saving a boatload of money again now. Packs up up to $25 CAD now.
.
